Fiber communication, which has grown into one of the main types of modern communications, plays a critical role in the modern telecommunication network. With the development of network technology, fibers are used widely as a transmission media for high-speed broadband digital communications. A fiber connector is a device serving for a detachable (removable) connection between fibers. Specifically, it precisely abuts the end surfaces of two fibers so that the light energy outputted from a transmit fiber can be maximally coupled to a receive fiber while minimizing the impact caused to a system due to its intervention into the optical link. Currently, common fiber connectors may be classified into, for example, a Ferrule Connector (PC), Subscriber Connector (SC), Straight Tip (ST), Lucent Connector (LC), D4, DIN, Miniature unit Coupling (MU) or Mechanical Transfer (MT) type, depending on the structure thereof.
The FC fiber connector, which was first developed by NTT from Japan, is externally strengthened by a metal sleeve and fastened by a turnbuckle.
The SC fiber connector, which has a cuboid casing, uses an inserting pin and a coupling sleeve of the same structure and dimension as those in the PC fiber connector, and may be fastened by a bolt.
The ST fiber connector is different from the SC fiber connector exposing its core, while the core of the SC connector is concealed within the joint.
The LC fiber connector, which was studied and developed by the famous Bell Labs, employs a modular Registered Jack (RJ) latch mechanism that is easy for operations. The inserting pins and the sleeve of the LC fiber connector have a width of 1.25 mm, nearly half of that of the common SC or FC fiber connector, and the area of the corresponding end surface is 4.5 mm*4.5 mm, thereby increasing the density of the fiber connectors installed in an optical fiber distributing frame. Currently, the LC connector has become dominant in the area of single-mode Small Form Factor (SFF), and its multi-mode applications are also rapidly expanding.
The Miniature Unit Coupling (MU) connector is so far the smallest single-core fiber connector in the world, which was developed by NTT based on the most commonly used SC fiber connector. It employs an aluminium pipe with a diameter of 1.25 mm and a self-holding mechanism. The MU connector is advantageous for its suitability for high-density installation, but still requires an end surface with an area up to 6.5 mm*4.5 mm.
With the large-scale progress of Fiber To The Home (FTTH), the fiber network is required to have a broader bandwidth and a larger capacity, and more and more fibers need to be connected into an optical access network. Correspondingly, hardware devices need to accommodate more connections, as a result of which, the fiber connectors need to be more densely installed and have a smaller volume. Particularly, the cross width of the end surface of the connector needs to be reduced as much as possible, so as to increase the installation density of the fiber connectors without demanding any changes to the physical volume of the existing equipment. However, the aforesaid structures of the conventional fiber connectors and the assembling processes thereof fail to meet these needs.